Hope for monkey on brink of extinction: new population found in Vietnam

Scientists have discovered at least 500 Critically Endangered grey-shanked doucs in Vietnam — their only home — boosting species estimates to up to 1,500 animals

Photo copyright: Nguyen Van Truong/Fauna & Flora International

Grey-shanked doucs live in the forest canopy of the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Their numbers have been severely reduced by habitat loss and fragmentation, along with hunting for food and the pet trade.

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) researchers located the 500+ animals in several subpopulations within the Kon Tum forest, which provides important connectivity to protected areas to the south and north, and across the border into Cambodia.

FFI Vietnam is now developing a conservation strategy which may include ecotourism and forest patrols for the newly discovered population. Vietnam is home to 11 Critically Endangered primate species, and a priority for primate conservation in Southeast Asia and the world.